Device for controlling golf swing

ABSTRACT

A golf swing aid comprising an elongate member including first and second end extremities; a first attachment at the first extremity and a second attachment at the second extremity; the first attachment adapted to be fixed to a rigid object above ground height and to constrain the elongate member to revolve in a path defining a cone, wherein the angle of elevation of the cone axis and the cone angle are independently adjustably fixed; and the second attachment is adapted to be secured to the shaft of a golf club and to be selectively clamped tightly thereto or allowed to slide with minimal resistance longitudinally along the shaft, the second attachment further adapted to allow universal type pivotal movement between the elongate member and the shaft.

This invention relates to a device which aids a golf player in obtainingand maintaining a correct, or at least near correct, golf swing.

BACKGROUND ART

A number of devices have been known in the art which allow a golfer topractice his swing. Such devices have basically fallen into twocategories: those which constrain the golf club in some manner; andthose which do not constrain the golf club. Swing aids of the formertype have generally been fairly large devices which take up considerablespace and are relatively expensive to produce. Devices of the lattertype, generally enjoy a much lower cost of production and smaller volumehowever they do not really serve the object of the present invention inthat the club may still be swung through any trajectory.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a golfswing aid which will overcome, or at least substantially ameliorate, thedisadvantages of the foregoing prior art.

Accordingly, in one broad form, the present invention may be said toconsist in a golf swing aid comprising: a substantially rigid memberincluding first and second end extremities; a first joint, includingattachment means, at said first end and providing relative pivotalmovement between said attachment means and said member; a second joint,adapted to be attached to a golf club, at said second end and providingrelative pivotal movement between said golf club and said member.

Preferably, the golf swing aid before described is used with saidattachment means attached to a rigid vertical surface at a locationsubstantially raised above ground level so that a golf club attached tosaid second joint may be swung in a normal manner while the lowerportion of the shaft is constrained by said golf swing aid to follow asubstantially planar trajectory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

By way of example only, one embodiment of the present invention will nowbe described with reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an perspective view of the apparatus while in use;

FIG. 2 shows one portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the portion of FIG. 2 from an alternative angle;

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the portion shown in FIGS. 2and 3; and

FIG. 5 shows a further portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Elongate member 10 includes pivotal joints 11 and 12 at its oppositeextremities. Member 10 is produced in glass or carbon fibre reinforcedplastics, aluminium extrusion or other suitably strong, preferablylightweight material. Pivotal joint 11 (FIG. 2) includes anchor plate 13adapted to be slidingly engaged with a wall bracket 14. In use wallbracket 14 is attached to a vertical surface so that it extendssubstantially vertically and is some distance above the general groundlevel. Anchor plate 13 is adjustably fixed to wall bracket 14 by asuitable screw in threaded hole 18 co-operating with a suitable hole 19so as to provide a vertical adjustment of the pivot 11.

Attached directly to rigid member 10 is an angle setting member 15 whichis pivotally attached via bush 23 to an anchor pivot member 16. Anchorpivot member 16 is further attached to anchor plate 13 described above.Angle setting member 15 includes two disk portions superposed andrelatively pivoted about a central axis. The co-operative faces of thetwo halves of angle setting member 15 are mutually fixed during use ofthe apparatus by radial serrations as clearly seen in FIG. 3, in analternative form, or by inserting a screw into a hole 22 as shown inFIG. 4. As will further be described herein below angle setting member15 provides a means for adjusting the important cone angle between therigid member 10 and the pivot within bushing 23.

A second important angle which is adjustable, but fixed during operationof the apparatus, is between the anchor pivot member 16 and the anchorplate 13. By altering this angle the axis about which the wholeapparatus rotates during use, that is the pivot axis in bushing 23, isset. Thus the swing angle, or angle of the plane in which the club isswung, is set. Frictional means 25 are provided between the co-operativesurfaces of anchor pivot member 16 and anchor plate 13. Theseco-operative surfaces are clamped together via screw fasteners 20 or 26.

A third adjustment is provided in that anchor plate 13 can be positionedin any one of a large number of positions along wall bracket 14. Thevertical height above ground at anchor plate 13 is set, as describedabove, so as to allow for different cone and swing angles. This will befurther described.

At the opposite end of member 10 is the second joint 12. Second joint 12is most clearly shown in FIG. 5 and includes a joining member 27 adaptedto be pivotally attached to the lower end of rigid member 10 viaaperture 32. Also in joining member 27, and running perpendicular toaperture 32 is a second aperture 40. A stud portion 28 of clampingmember 30 is adapted to be placed into aperture 40 and secured thereinby co-operative nut 29. Shaft clamping member 30 includes a transverseslot 33 which is adapted to have the shaft of a golf club placedtransversely therein, and to be secured by knurled ring nut 31 which isscrewed onto the threaded surrounding of slot 33. Clamping member 30 isproduced in suitable plastics material. It can be seen that slot 33 istransversely inwardly convergent. This feature helps prevent damage tothe golf shaft, and further allows the shaft to travel in a limitedmanner transversely through slot 33 when knurled nut 31 is notparticularly tight. A modification using a resilient ball or similarindented into the wall of slot 33 can help this travel to occur in asmooth manner. This is advantageous when using tapered shafts.

The object of the apparatus as a whole is to allow a person to practicea golf swing so that the club swings in a substantially planar circularor elliptical arc. The plane defined by this arc will be at an angle tothe ground dependent upon the users height, the length of the club andthe users general stance. The angle of this plane, or swing angle, isadjusted by the angle between anchor plate 13 and anchor pivot member16. Preferably a angular scale is provided on one of these members 10 or16 so as to allow the user to more quickly set the appropriate angle,having calculated same from a graph or chart compiled for this purpose,before use of the apparatus.

The diameter of the arc will depend upon the shaft length, the usersarms length and the position at which second joint 12 is placed on theclub shaft. This position is usually 6 to 9 inches from the head of theclub. This diameter is set by the before mentioned cone angle.

In practice the actual trajectory may be slightly bi-planar, as isperformed by many skilled golfers. The club is constrained not at thehead but a short distance up the shaft, at address and in early backswing a slight lowering of the shoulders and pulling in of the handscauses the head to follow a path slightly on the outside of thetheoretical swing plane. At the top of the swing the player canstraighten up bringing the club into the theoretical swing plane duringthe remainder of the stroke.

Further, as the shaft may slide within attachment means 30, the head maybe pushed slightly out of the theoretical circle so as to describe moreof an elliptical arc. Again this departure from the single planecircular swing is performed by a number of skilled players. Thus theshaft is kept on plane while the club may still travel along the targetline in the conventional take-away.

As with the back swing, the apparatus allows a full follow-throughalthough constraint against over-swing or collapse at the stance isapplied.

In order to set up the apparatus for operation the vertical height aboveground of anchor plate 13 is set in accordance with the height of theperson who will be using the apparatus. Usually speaking the set heightof anchor plate 13 will be lower for taller operators than for shorterones. The height will further depend upon the size of the club to beused and in absolute turns the length of rigid member 10. As an example,in the preferred embodiment rigid member 10 is 6 foot in length and fora person of 5 foot ten inch high using a standard 42 inch wood theanchor plate 13 would be firstly set at approximately 6 foot aboveground level. Angle setting member 15 would be adjusted to give a coneangle of 80° and anchor pivot member 16 set to give a plane angle suchthat the loose end of rigid member 10 is approximately 9 inches from theground at its lowest point of the swing. The club can then be attachedto joint 12 and from the address position a slow back swing is takenuntil the club head reaches the top of the back swing. Fastening means20 and 26 are then tightened so as to set the anchor pivot member 16rigidly to anchor plate 13. The club is then returned to the addressposition and knurl nut 31 may be somewhat loosened. During a slow swingit should be noted that club shaft can travel through the attachmentmeans 30 and ideally the amount of club shaft projecting beyond clamp 30is the same at address and at the top of back swing. If this is notfound to be correct fine tuning is available by adjusting the verticalheight of anchor plate 13.

As can be easily appreciated it is quite possible to construct a tablewhich will readoff the appropriate settings for use on the apparatus inaccordance with the operators height and club length. Of course suchadjustments would purely be a starting point although they wouldprobably be fairly close to the final settings used. The fine adjustmentwould normally be necessary to allow for example for similarly heightedpeople with different arm lengths.

The present invention has a number of important attributes. Firstly dueto the simple nature the device is easily transported, especially if forexample the rigid member 10 is produced in two sections threadablyconnected at its centre. Furthermore the apparatus may be used equallywell by left and right handed operators without any extra adjustmentrequired.

In use the apparatus forces the operator to extend and straighten theleft arm (assuming a right handed player) and prevents collapse at thetop of the back swing. Due to the geometry the user of the apparatuscannot over-swing, the club can only be safely swung back to anapproximately horizontal position. When the club is returned it followsa near perfect controlled arc substantially within a fixed plane frominside to the point of impact to a return position at the top of thefollow-through. A swing whereby the club head is restrained to follow asubstantially circular arc within a fixed plane has long been taught byprofessionals as being most desirable. Such swing greatly improves thechance of hitting the ball square and of having the club head travellingin the exactly desired direction at impact.

The above exemplified embodiment of the invention can of courseincorporate a number of features which may be felt desirable in somecircumstances. For example if the apparatus were to be used in tuitionby professional golfers it may be desired to have electronic ormechanical sensing means incorporated proximate joint 11 and interactingwith rigid member 10 to indicate such features as club head velocity atpoint of impact, momentum loss during impact (indicating momentum gainedand therefore velocity of the bore), and number of swings. Similarsensing means might also be incorporated proximate joint 12 to detectmovement of the golf shaft through clamping member 30.

Furthermore the present invention provides apparatus which may be usedduring practice of full strength swings without significantly affectingthe users hitting power. Of course the apparatus may be used to actuallyhit a ball.

The pivotal joints 11 and 12 described above are the presently preferredembodiment but could be replaced by mechanically equivalent devices.Such might include suitable universal or ball and socket type joints solong as they possess the same degrees of freedom and preferably theangle setting abilities of the preferred joints.

The apparatus may also include its own stand so as to provide rigidanchoring of bracket 14. The stand may be for example a mobile tripod ora single pole rigidly held perpendicular to a frame adapted to lie flaton the ground.

Unlike most golf swing aid which constrain the movement of the club, thepresent apparatus normally creates no feeling of weight other than thatof the club itself. However during warm-up it is sometimes desired toincrease club weight (some people swing a couple of clubs together forthis purpose) and this can be done by loosening angle setting member 15allowing the weight of member 10 and pivot 12 to be felt.

What I claim is:
 1. A golf swing aid device comprising: a substantiallyrigid member including first and second end extremities; attachmentmeans for fixing the rigid member to a rigid body; a first joint at saidfirst end of the rigid member comprising an anchor pivot memberconnected to said attachment means and adapted to lockably rotate abouta horizontal axis, an angle setting member attached between said pivotmember and said rigid member with said angle setting member adapted tofreely rotate relative to said pivot member about a pivot axisperpendicular thereto, to be rigidly attached to said rigid member andto allow adjustment for setting the angle subtended between said pivotaxis and said rigid member; and a seconsd joint adapted to beselectively fixedly or smoothly slidingly attached to the head end of agolf club shaft and to be secured to said second end of the rigid memberproviding relative pivotal movement between said golf club and saidmember.
 2. A golf swing aid as in claim 1 wherein the anchor pivotmember is connected to the attachment means through an anchor platefixedly vertically slidably attached to said attachment means.
 3. A golfswing aid as in claim 1 wherein the said second joint comprises ajoining member attached to, and pivotable about, the longitudinal axisof said rigid member; a shaft clamping member secured to said joiningmember and pivotable about an axis perpendicular to said axis of saidrigid member.
 4. A golf swing aid as defined in claim 3 wherein saidshaft clamping member includes a male threaded region at one extremity,said threaded region including a slot running across said regionparallel to the thread axis of said region and adapted to receive a golfclub shaft therein, an a co-operative female threaded device screwedonto said region and adapted to secure a shaft with said slot.
 5. A golfswing aid as defined in claim 4 wherein said slot is transverselyinwardly convergent.
 6. A golf swing aid as defined in claim 5 whereinsaid shaft clamping member is produced in plastics material in at leastthe region of said slot.